Macron finally admits he gave Telegram chief French citizenship

BELGRADE — French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday night took full responsibility for giving Telegram messaging app CEO Pavel Durov French citizenship — days after a presidential spokesperson told POLITICO it was a foreign ministry decision.
Macron also brushed off criticism over granting Russian-born Durov citizenship, a decision which he said was made in 2018, adding that it was a conscious choice by the government to attract athletes, artists and innovators.
French police arrested Durov last weekend in a criminal case which has caused a diplomatic firestorm thanks to the Telegram chief’s connections to Russia and the UAE, and a cultural row over people’s right to free speech on the internet.
“I gave Mr. Durov French citizenship, who learned French, as I gave to Mr. [Evan] Spiegel, an American entrepreneur, as I gave citizenship to some athletes and artists, and I think this is something that is very good for our country and I will continue to do so,” Macron said during an unrelated trip to the Serbian capital Belgrade on Thursday.
On Monday, a spokesperson for the French presidency had told POLITICO that the call to grant Durov citizenship had been made by the foreign ministry. The foreign affairs ministry had said it “does not communicate on individual citizenship procedures.”
Official records show Durov was formally granted French citizenship in 2021. An in-depth report by Le Monde last year highlighted the lack of transparency surrounding the matter, with questions raised about whether the Telegram boss was fulfilling the required criteria.
Macron also dismissed reports suggesting that he was planning to meet Durov, who was indicted Wednesday on multiple charges including enabling criminal activity on his popular messaging app and refusing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
“I did not call and was not planning on meeting with Mr. Durov, neither at the end of last week nor in the following days,” Macron told reporters.
Macron also denied that he had prior knowledge of Durov’s plans to travel to France before he was arrested at Paris’ Le Bourget airport on Saturday night after arriving from Azerbaijan.
“We are a country where separation of powers exist and we have rule of law controlled by an independent judiciary and that is a good thing,” Macron continued.
“I continuously operate in compliance with the rules I mentioned here. I don’t know anything more than that, and it’s normal that I don’t know more than that because our judicial bodies are independent,” he added.
Tech billionaire Durov has faced ongoing criticism for Telegram’s use by far-right and terrorist groups, as well as its role in drug trafficking, illicit selling and cyberbullying. Telegram is widely popular outside of Europe.
The app saw increased usage in Europe following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, largely due to its popularity in Eastern Europe, where various users, and Ukrainian and Russian platforms, use it to share footage and images from the front lines. 
Durov was released on bail of €5 million and is prohibited from leaving France while the investigation continues. Additionally, he is required to check in with the police.